How to Use Growth-driven Design to Optimize Your Outdated Website

Subscribe to our Blog

Until recently, website design/redesign has been a dreaded, necessary evil. The three- to four-month process is expensive, cumbersome and outputs a site that sucks up your entire budget, all at once. All of this effort and expense often result in the discovery that your site visitors aren’t interacting like you had anticipated that they would...rendering your new, “improved” website useless. And, due to your budget limitations, you’ll have to wait until next year to invest additional funds in a redesign attempt.

That’s a pretty bogus approach to website design -- although, it’s been the standard for many years.

Growth-driven Design (GDD) is rapidly becoming the preferred way to redesign websites. By implementing GDD, you are able to speed up the launch time for your site and optimize it on a regular basis.

Let me explain a little more: we usually recommend developing a site using GDD in three phases.

Phase 1: Identification of the Vital Website Elements

The best way to determine your website’s essentials is to develop personas and user stories. Imagine all of the visitors who might use your site and identify their purposes. Create detailed examples of who these people are, how they interact with your site and what their outcomes should be.

After you’ve explored the various reasons users have for visiting your site, it’s much easier to analyze the content of your site. As you examine each page or section of content, decide what stays as is, what she be removed and what needs changing.

Define the business requirements for the site. Ask yourself what elements are crucial and consider adding them, if necessary.

Develop an outline (sitemap) for each page to be included on your site. Determine the page structure and other pertinent details needed for development.

Phase 2: Launch of Your MVP

With use of the sitemap and design preferences, the next step is to launch your minimum viable product (MVP). The MVP is not intended to be the “complete” project. It is the bare necessities of your site and will function well for doing business. It’s a starting point for the full site’s expansion. The MVP is the prioritized business requirements, with many items included on a wishlist for future enhancements.

As your MVP is in preparation for launch, ensure that users are able to find the information they are looking for in an accessible manner. Develop a site that is easily updated by implementing a content management system (CMS) that is simple for stakeholders to use without a defined gatekeeper. Establish workflows to increase automation and decrease the degree of manual processing needed across the spectrum of stakeholders.

Integrate analytics for all aspects of the site to drive future web decisions and monitor site growth, visits, etc.

Phase 3: Enhance and Improve The WEBSITE

After you’ve launched your MVP, set aside part of your budget to add wishlist items to the site or make updates/changes based on analytics results about site use and interaction. Use customer feedback as your guide, in many cases. Consider making changes involving SEO best practices or Google algorithms, if necessary.

We would love to help you through the process of optimizing your website through growth-driven design. Get in touch with us today to find out how to get started!

Brandee Johnson is an avid marketing expert with a passion for helping businesses achieve growth through data-driven marketing programs. She believes in building marketing systems and starting with strategy before tactics.